• Scottish' Photographers

Notes June 2004

Scottish Photographers 2004Life Member Thomas Joshua Cooper

Christopher AidieAlan AitchisonJohn AlexanderDenis AlyshevRoland AshcroftDouglas BellIan BiggarAlan BorthwickShiela BorthwickAlan BovilDavid BruceAlicia BruceRobert BurnsStewart BurnsColin CaversClaire CockraneBob CollinsJoel ConnGary ConwayAnne CrabbeEmily DixonWilliam DoigCatherine DrainIan FairgrieveEileen FitzpatrickSam GardenerAase GoldsmithPeter GoldsmithAndre GoulaincourtSuzy GrayNick HolmesIan KingPeter Koch-OsborneRosemary Koch-OsborneKuba KolinskiPeter LaneThomas LawMichael LeeGeorge LoganSarah MackayDouglas MackieGwen MackieJames MailerDon MarshFergus MatherDouglas MayClare MaynardDanny McClure

North BerwickLochwinnochBoroughty FerryHurletMeigleCoulterDunscorePerthPerthEdinburghHelensburghEdinburghGlasgowGlasgowLauderEdinburghGlasgowGlasgowEdinburghSheshamEdinburghGlasgowKilsythInvernessKinlossSkyeLargowardLargowardInversnaidSkyeMullInversnaidBeaulyBeaulyEdinburghForest TownBearsdenYorkCargillGlasgowEdinburghEdinburghLadybankGlasgowWickEdinburghGuardbridgePenicuik

Ray McKenzieIan McLeanJohn McLeishIan MelvilleTony MiddletonCameron MillerCarole MillerDavid MitchellLaurele MitchellBob MooreChris MorrisDonna MurrayRoy MyersDavid OgdenFiona PorteousJame PorterCarl RadfordBruce RattrayMartin ReekieJames RennyJohn RhodesJacqueline RobbieRoy RobertsonAndrew SandersonSandy SharpStewart ShawMatt SillarsRoddy SimpsonDaniel SlinkertJane SmithCraig SneddenPhilip SpainJill StaplesSheilagh SteeleDavid ThirdIan TrushellTom UrieRobert WalkerStuart WalkerHugh WalkerCarrie WhitmoreRuss Young

Milton of CampsieGlasgowGlasgowGlasgowCannockDunoonBellsquarryDunfermlineGlasgowAvochBishop's WalthamEdinburghEast SaltounBalmulloAlvaClovestonDrumsagardCamberleyBallatarRumbling BridgeLairgEdinburghNewport on TayHolmfirthMotherwellGlasgowDingwallLinlithgowElsteadEdinburghGlenrothesGlasgowBolneyHarburnKeithKilbarchanMotherwellKinrossKemnayGlasgowEdinburghCupar

Several members have requested anonimity.Please inform us of mistakes or omissions.

Cover Photograph © Denis Ashilov

Portfolio Sessions

Although the web site and the Notes have their advocates, it may be that portfoliosessions are potentially the most important events organised by ScottishPhotographers. A number of these have been held over the last few years. PeterGoldsmith led the way in the Crawford Centre in St Andrews. Eileen Fitzpatrick hasheld several in the Inverness area, most recently an all day event at her home andStreet Level is the venue in Glasgow, there are no sessions in Edinburgh or theBorders at present. Please get in touch if you can provide a venue (and makearrangements) either there or in othre, however remote, parts of Scotland.A happy spin off from the St Andrews sessions was an exhibition by six photogra-phers in the Lochgelly Centre followed by a solo show, East of the Eden, by PeterGoldsmith. Peter also presented a gallery talk. Hopefully the encouragement of theseportfolio sessions will act as a spur to mount more exhibitions. Our reader survey sug-gested that most Scottish Photographers are keen to show their work, either on theirown or in a group. Eileen Fitzpatrick sent the following (edited) note.

'An inspiring and encouraging portfolio meeting took place in mid March at the home(near Inverness) of Eileen Fitzpatrick. Therewere five altogether, Anne Thomson,Caroline Dear, Matt Sillars, John Rhodes andEileen. John showed large black and whiteprints of wrapped objects, inspired, he said,by the work of Christo. He also showedcolour work. Caroline showed her commi-sioned work as a sculptor and photographerworking with other artists and children torestore walls and the dyke in (Jig ShoreWood in Skye where she lives. She is alsoengaged in documenting sacred sites. Mattspoke about his Hurt of Flowers exhibitionand work in progress, close ups of facialexpressions of children. Anne is a painter aswell as a photographer, with a particular interestin the figure. She is using Photoshop in her exploration of glimpses of the figure in theurban landscape. Eileen showed work relating to many projects, some completed,some nascent.It is so helpful to come together like this to share work, especially in this remote partof the country. We agreed to meet again on a Saturday in September.'

Subscriptions for 2004

Thanks to all our loyal members who have already resubscribed. If you have not already subscribed toScottish Photographers for 2004 than we hope you will consider doing so. This will enable you to receivethe Contact Sheet and December Notes and allow us to plan these with confidence.

Anne Thomson, Eileen Fitzpatrick Matt Sillars andJohn Rhodes

Read Me

Scottish Photographers is a group of independent photographers which is of coursea contradiction. Independent photographers (they say) should not form groups ortalk to each other. Well maybe that is so but here we are. There are about ninetyScottish Photographers, there is a thriving web site and this newsletter. And 'mem-bers' (some of you don't like that word - is there some other?) have met for a num-ber of afternoon and residential portfolio sessions. Contact with similarly minded cre-ative spirits has proved to be valuable and mutually sustaining. We intend to evolve- although wise heads offer cautionary advice such as: 'Haud still. Keep going'.

New photographic things are happening. In Glasgow a new Gallery has opened inthe Latin Quarter (as the area around the Iron Theatre is known!) DGP is a 'com-mercial' photography gallery to which we offer our best wishes. The basement ofDGP, in St Andrews Street, functions as an office for its partners, Craig Wallace andSteve Gillies, two local and established commercial photographers. At street levelthere is a small exhibition space which opened with a show of varied photojournal-ism by Mark Hamilton who is the photographer-in residence for Scottish Opera.Shetland is the unlikely birthplace of the new magazine, Pictorial Post, which aimsto 'strike a balance between news magazines and National Geographic'. Our bestwishes also go to this enterprise even though the BJP reported a less than amicablestart.

One of the most valuable aspects of independent photography is that of making a'body of work' rather than endless individual masterpieces. Christopher Morris, in athoughtful article, argues for a body of work in which the whole is greater than thepart. An example of this, albeit running to only three images, can be seen in RolandAshcroft's elegaic 'Jonathan's Song'. If you are planning to send work to the website the the Notes for consideration then please make it a little body of work and nota sample of your greatest hits. An individual print may well be a satisfying object ofart and example of technical assurance, not to say cleverness. However it may alsoresonante with the viewer if the photographer has supplied relevant visual clues.Viewing images which are only the one or the other can become rather boring aftera time. Images of assured technical excellence but with (optional) layers of mean-ings are always more satisfying. Not matter or material but matter and material.

Have you visited the web site (www.scottish-photographers.com) recently? It isupdated regularly by George Logan and is always looking for good current material.Send your information to info@scottish-photographers.com and also portfolios,see above, for consideration for the gallery. It is surprising that, thus far, so fewScotish Photographers have used the opportunity to take part in this unique Scottishventure. Support the web site!

Roland Ashcroft and Pete NixonJonathan's Song

We met on the water hanging like beads on a stringand thought of the sea and the grief it would bring.

Time lapped a beat on the side of the boat,They said "we leave nothing behind but surf and oil",

But I could not help but leave a part of me there,Despite all that they said.

Here's to them being right-Here's to them knowing the answers.

Here's to a sleep-filled nightMay we dream of the answers.

The boat let in salt-water in over my feetLoose change.

Cover my eyes no-one should see our lossVeiled as the cliffs.

The place we love has lost its joyRaised into the mist.

It was a poor exchange although you will always be free,May we never forget what took us to the sea.

Raised into the mist © Roland Ashcroft

« : •

Thought of the sea © Roland Ashcroft

Sleep filled nights © Roland Ashcroft

Roland Ashcroft lectures in the School of Design at the University of Dundee andPete Nixon (who graduated from the School) composes electronic sound.They started collaborative photographic image/sound work in 2001 and have exhibit-ed in galleries at the University, the Visual Research Centre, Dundee, the CrawfordArts Centre, St Andrews and the Imperial War Museum, London. In their work theimages suggest a narrative and are usually in triptych form.The creative workemerges as a sort of progression of ideas that might start with either snippets of soundor sketches or roughs for the ideas. Sometimes (as was the case with Jonathan's'Song) the final work is presented as an installation piece.

Jonathan's Song was made for an exhibition at the Crawford Gallery, St Andrews, in2002 and is an expressive response to the tragic death of a boy from a tiny island offthe west coast of Scotland who was drowned at sea. Roland and Pete were presentat the funeral and deeply affected by the event. During the day Roland collected thevarious stones and bits and pieces that are used in the images. Pete wrote the wordsof the song which relate to an event during the day when a small flotilla of boats setoff to the mainland with Jonathan and mourners. Half way across the boats stoppedin a moment of poignant silence.

The sound track for the piece emerges from the song and other elements that havebeen woven in.

The images have been built up as small arrangements that respond to the words ofthe song and represent the sea, the beach and the land.

The titles of the images: Raised into the mist, Thought of sea and Sleep filled nights,are taken from words of the song that seemed to capture the essence of our emotionsand memories of that remarkable day.

The original images approximately eight inches square and are toned.They can be seen, together with part of the sound track, on the web sitewww.scottish-photographers.com.

Peter GoldsmithEast of the Eden - Nature Reserves of North East Fife

These photographs represent the latest in a series of projects concerned with the con-temporary landscape of North East Fife. Whilst exploring some of the lanes andbyways I kept coming across small, almost secret nature reserves. These have overrecent years become an integral part of both the conservational and recreationalaspects of the countryside.

When I first started the project I had envisaged perhaps four or five such reserves, butI soon discovered many more. Finally I located the twelve. Because of the number Idecided to restrict the project to those east of the River Eden and omitted the impor-tant Eden Estuary which would be a project in itself.

The photographs are intended to convey an idea of the location and atmosphere ofthe reserves which can vary from a simple field to several acres in extent. I am not anaturalist and I have not attempted to investigate the natural history or scientific back-ground. The use of black and white images serves to emphasize this. I am concernedwith the feeling of being in these oases of what is effectively "wilderness", often inclose proximity to busy agricultural businesses, tourist or sporting activity. Some arerelatively remote, others are on the doorstep of towns or villages..

One of the joys of visiting these places is that one is free from the suspicion andenquiry that so often pursues photographers today. However, if you do visit some ofthese places, please remember that they are "nature reserves", places of scientificinterest - not picnic parks or play areas. A pocket book on wild plants or birds and aninexpensive pair of binoculars are more rewarding here than a Walkman or a moun-tain bike.

I would like to thank the staff of the Scottish Wildlife Trust who have been particularlyhelpful and without whose advice this project wouldn't have happened.

Peter Goldsmith

Dunbarnie Links © Peter Goldsmith

Bankhead Moss ©Peter Goldsmith

Fleecefaulds © Peter Goldsmith

Kiels Den © Peter Goldsmith

East of the Eden - Postscript

Peter was requested to let us have some notes - and he , of course, responded in typ-ical fashion though one could summarise Peter's attitude to technical matters by quot-ing Minor White who once wrote:

"For technical data - the camera was faithfully used"

Cameras include Bronica S2A, Rolleicord, Contax G1 and 'home made' 5x4 with150mm and 89mm(sic) lenses. Average age of cameras - about 25 years. Prints onKentmere warm tone fibre based . . . .because it is cheapest! . . . but I prefer FortePolywarmtone which is what was used for other exhibitions.'

Peter also appended the following 'thoughts'. . .

The whole series is an attempt to portray landscape of a part of rural Scotland as it is.Generally they are not 'stunning' images, a few may be by accident, the idea is to con-vey, in each series, the atmosphere of the place, what it is like to be there, what isattractive about it, what the area looks like at this time. Including power lines, tele-graph poles and, in due course, windmills.

They are taken as much for posterity as for the present. Unfortunately, because theyare not about people (or machinery) they don't interest museums and I am not famousenough (or they aren't 'good enough' photographs) for university or photographicarchives, so the chances of their surviving for posterity are slim.

Photographically, they are taken during the day rather than early morning or late after-noon/evening ('everyday lighting' someone called it!) partly because I don't like get-ting up at dawn but mainly because I am trying to avoid 'pictorial' lighting. I try (don'talways succeed) to get negatives which print straight on grades 2 or 3, using a K2(light yellow) filter at all times, except a yellow/green for woodlands in late summer (ifI remember!) NOT to enhance the sky but to correct tonal balance - see KodakHandbook, Ansel Adams, Geoffrey Crawley etc. etc.Using the minimum of dodgingand burning. 'Keep it simple!'.

Interesting Thought

At Mugdock last year Philip Spain pointed out that 'only a photographer couldbelieve that 5x4 is greater than 6x9'

Philip is, of course, a mathematician.

Paul HillApproaching Photography

Sitting in front of a computer screen, it is difficultto remember what photography was once like.Old copies of Creative Camera, preserved witha reverence of sacred relics, can bring a quick-ening of the pulse and a tear to the eye. Inthese far off days the chosen few fought to keepthe flickering flame of independent photographyalive. Notable amongst them was Paul Hill, aphotojournalist turned teacher. However it wasnot so much for Paul's academic teaching thatmany remember him but rather for the Mecca ofCreative Photography that he and his wife,Angela, brought into being, The 'Photographer'sPlace' in the Peak District. For many years,together with some of the greatest photographicnames in the world, he ran workshops there.

- >,- . -j -_-'*«. TPI

Many of Paul's thoughts about photography © Paul Hi"were written down in "Approaching Photography" published in 1982. Around thistime there were three moments of photographic illumination for this writer. One wasseeing a Thomas Joshua Cooper print, Wind Riffling Memories, in Glasgow, anotherwas discovering the work of John Blakemore in a Creative Camera and the thirdwas buying "Approaching Photography". Twenty two years on a much revised edi-tion is being published and Paul will be in Scotland in August to promote this.

Launch of Approaching PhotographyStills Gallery Cockburn Street Edinburgh

Friday 13th August at 7pmand

Street Level Photoworks King Street GlasgowSaturday 14th August at 2pm

Copies of Dialogue with Photography by Paul Hill and Thomas Cooper are still obtain-able. Interviews with many famous names from Ansel Adams to Minor White. Thissubstantial work is full of amusing asides such as Cecil Beaton's response to a ques-tion about his training in photography . . . . "Nanny used to help me with the process-ing in the bathroom when I was very young".

Almost certainly available from Beyond Words Cockburn Street Edinburgh.

ICONS of Scottish Photography

Aase Goldsmith

Dreamtime 1999

From the series 'St Monans Sun Stones'

Reproduced by kind permission of Aase Goldsmith

Jigsaw Puzzle BluesChristopher William Morris

How often have you listened to a complete symphony or even to Vivaldi's FourSeasons in its entirety?

There is something in the terms of reference of the RPS Contemporary Group thatspeaks of encouraging photographers to produce 'bodies of work'. For many photog-raphers brought up in the tradition of the Club and the Salon, this can be a somewhatdaunting prospect. It represents a new concept, a paradigm shift away from the defin-itive single image towards a new way of using the medium, one where a group orsequence of photographs forms a coherent whole. This change of emphasis, from asingle print to a set, places new demands upon the viewer too; they must be preparedto consider the multiple pieces as a single work.

This approach can open up fertile new ground for the photographer. No longertrapped within the painter's frame, he can look elsewhere for form and function.Painterly conventions are no longer the natural frame of reference. If the work is nar-rative (although it does not have to be), then literature may prove a more natural andintuitive model.

The narrative model can provide new complexities of structure. For example, it doesnot have to be simply linear - it can deviate from strict chronological sequence. As longas the reader's attention can be retained within its framework the timeline can accom-modate flashbacks and premonitions. The voice of the narrator does not even needto be the same throughout; the story can be told from more than one point of view,perhaps literally. The photographer can explore different persona through differentstyles.

Perhaps one of the more difficult challenges for the photographers constructing sucha work is maintaining balance and flow. A single outstanding image can disrupt it,tempting the reader to forget the whole and concentrate on the part. The effect is lesslikely to be a problem in prose, where the literary form is the expected norm, but in thevisual arts (except for the comic strip and its grammar school brother, the graphicnovel) there will always be a tendency for each frame to be seen as the delimiter of apiece of work.

This does not mean that each 'body of work' must be presented in a uniform manner.Certainly this convention helps to hold it together if the underlying concept is weak ortenuous. A physical framework, whether literally framing or in the form of book bind-ing, is usually necessary, but it does not have to impose uniformity. Pictures may beof different sizes, for example. Colour can be interleaved with monochrome. There aremany ways in which emphasis and mood can be shifted, developed and exploited tosupport the architecture of the narrative.

One is tempted to make comparisons with the cinema, but that is a distinctly differentmedium. It is a sequence of images, but they are presented in such a way as to beperceived as movement. There are similar opportunities for the auteur to play withchronology and the identity of the narrator, but the flow is always strictly under his con-trol. In contrast, a panel or sequence of photographs is directly analagous to prose inthat the reader controls the flow. He looks at them at his own page, choosing to returnto previous images or move on at will.

Shifting paradigms is both a challenge and opportunity for the photographer. It candeliver whole new dimensions in time or shape to the work. The photographer has toconsider, though, that the viewer may need help. He cannot assume that the viewerwill understand that his pictures represent a single opus; - more likely, seeing one heespecially likes he pays little attention to the rest. Thus the narrative structure is dis-regarded, the work fragmented and the concept lost.

Composers have a similar problem.Christopher William Morris

Postscript.We were reminded of a post card, below, received from Chris some time ago. Part ofa body of work? Part of a body?'Weather fine. Food mediocre. On Tuesday we went shooting sitting-ducks.Best wishes Chris.'

Unknown street in England © Christopher Morris

The Compass GalleryChristina McBride

From: Black Isle © Christina McBride

The Compass Gallery in Glasgow is the creation of Cyril Gerber, Glasgow's legendaryoctogenarian art dealer. Usually presided over by the kenspeckle figure of the painterJames Tweedie, it is one of the few art galleries that is not at all intimidating for a new-comer to visit. It is also one of the few galleries that shows photography, albeit on anoccasional basis. The May exhibition this year was entitled "Black Isle" and broughttogether the work of three Glasgow based artists, each of whom had spent a periodas Artist in Residence in Cromarty on the Black Isle. It featured painters CraigPeacock and Cathy Richmond and photography by Christina McBride.

'For Christina McBride the residency offered to possibility to work outwith the urban context,which generally informs so much of her practice. Her work is concerned with issues relating tothe physical environment - the complex individual and collective reality which is to be read inthe places and spaces we interact with and inhabit. In this work she uses the medium of pho-tography to respond to some of the more ephemeral experiences within the natural landscape'

(The Compass Gallery)

The Compass Gallery is a shining beacon to those who would found and run their ownenterprises. And the show was the gin of named individuals, a reminder that in thedays of Arts' Councils and Lottery Grants, concerned and generous individuals canstill make it possible for independent exhibitions of visual art.

Book ReviewRobin Gillanders: The Photographic Portrait

The author indicates at the beginning of the volume that the reader should read it ashe would a novel or biography from start to finish and not simply dip into individualchapters. The reason for that becomes apparent if the book is read from cover tocover.

A mere look at the chapter headings indicates that this is no ordinary book of photo-graphic technique. For example chapter one examines - what is a portrait? Chaptertwo deals with the constructed portrait and chapter three deals with the found portrait.

It is clear from these chapters that the author engages both his intellect and emotionsin his approach to portrait photography applying it to a well grounded and strong tech-nique.

Robin Gillanders is brave enough to share with us not only the rigour of his intellec-tual approach to photography but also to the depth of his feelings as an artist. Onecannot fail to be moved by the photographs of his dying friend Chick Chalmers onpage 16.

Two examples demonstrate the variation in both approach and technique. At pages112 and 113 Robin shows a photograph of Neil Miller, his photographic assistant takenin 1989. He says:

"This picture of Neil was made when he was working for meand another photographer, Chris Hall. Neil was a wonderfulassistant and uniquely eccentric, so I wanted to make a picturethat reflected this. With a certain perversity, I have also enjoyedmaking pictures with minimal equipment - you cannot get moreminimal lighting than a torch."

The result (below) is a powerful yet engaging personal portrait.

On pages 68 and 69 Robin shows a planned portrait of Tim Maguire of considerableingenuity and sophistication. In his own words the author says:

"Tim lives in a very modern, minimal and designed flat thathas featured in architectural and style magazines. So in someways his living space is a portrait of him.When I visited him to discuss the picture, I knew that I hadto be made in his sitting room, but I wanted something rathermore unusual than I would normally do ... Tim mentionedin the course of discussion why he has no pictures on the

The Compass GalleryChristina McBride

From: Black Isle © Christina McBride

The Compass Gallery in Glasgow is the creation of Cyril Gerber, Glasgow's legendaryoctogenarian art dealer. Usually presided over by the kenspeckle figure of the painterJames Tweedie, it is one of the few art galleries that is not at all intimidating for a new-comer to visit. It is also one of the few galleries that shows photography, albeit on anoccasional basis. The May exhibition this year was entitled "Black Isle" and broughttogether the work of three Glasgow based artists, each of whom had spent a periodas Artist in Residence in Cromarty on the Black Isle. It featured painters CraigPeacock and Cathy Richmond and photography by Christina McBride.

'For Christina McBride the residency offered to possibility to work outwith the urban context,which generally informs so much of her practice. Her work is concerned with issues relating tothe physical environment - the complex individual and collective reality which is to be read inthe places and spaces we interact with and inhabit. In this work she uses the medium of pho-tography to respond to some of the more ephemeral experiences within the natural landscape'

(The Compass Gallery)

The Compass Gallery is a shining beacon to those who would found and run their ownenterprises. And the show was the gin of named individuals, a reminder that in thedays of Arts' Councils and Lottery Grants, concerned and generous individuals canstill make it possible for independent exhibitions of visual art.

Neil Millar Photographer's Assistant Robin Gillanders 1989

wall and that he has often considered the idea of projectingpictures on the wall above his fireplace. So this initiated a trainof thought that led to the idea of making a 35mm transparencyin his sitting room and then returning on another occasion,projecting the slide and making the picture. I'd intended tohave an empty room with just the projected slide, but at thelast minute decided to include Tim, but just his legs, so thatthere is a 'real' presence as well as a 'virtual' presence"

Study of the portrait shows just how well the idea has been realized.

The other delight of the book is looking at the many fine portraits Robin has taken inhis development as a photographer. This book is a must in any serious photograph-er's library.

Douglas May

John BlakemoreWorkshop

Sunday 29th August 10.00am - 5.00pmVisitor Centre Mugdock Country Park Milngavie

Cost £35.00

This is a rare opportunity to take part ina day long workshop in Scotland withJohn Blakemore. The author of Inscapeand The Stilled Gaze, John is one of thecountry's best loved photographers.Although sometimes known as the 'tulipman' this is only a small part of his workwhich includes landscapes, colour workand book making.

Hand made books, ranging from glued Japanese books to those computer generat-ed, will be a main theme. If you are interested in presenting your work as books (ratherthan having piles of prints in a cupboard!) then this workshop may be just the one youhave been waiting for. John will also be showing and talking about his own inspira-tional work. Only a few places left.

Send the enclosed form, together with a cheque for £35.00 to book a place.Numbers are limited to ten and only a few places are left. Early booking advised.

John is also leading a workshop, organised by the RPS, in Newport on Tay, onSaturday 28th August. May be open to non RPS members.Contact Roy Robertson at roy.robertson@virgin.net and 01382 542 446.

John Blakemore will be at Inversnaid from 18th to 23rd July.Collected Image will deal with fine printing and bookmaking. 'An inspirational andpractical workshop with this unique teacher, artist and craftsman' Cost £470.00 + vat.Details from Inversnaid at info@inversnaidphoto.com01877 386 254

Call for Contributions

The Contact Sheet will appear in September. Contributions for this and the DecemberNotes are sought. It would be especially good to hear from Art Schools and Collegeswhere a huge amount of creative work goes on - only to be briefly glimpsed at degreeshows.Have you views on the Scottish National Photography Centre(www.snpc.org.uk) or on the quality of exhibitions being shown in galleries? Whatare your feelings about Scottish photography - is there any such thing? Do you havea small body of work which you would like to be considered for publication? Contactthe Notes, address on the back cover, and let us hear from you.

Community Arts - Photography

Your local authority may not be an obvious place to look to find a patron for photog-raphy projects but North Lanarkshire Council proves to be the exception. In its recentnewsletter, for instance, it calls for proposals from photographers for exhibitions withthe promise of help in framing, transporting - and even a small fee for selected artists.

The council has had a comprehensive Arts policy since its inception and David Peacehas been 'Arts Development Officer (Photography)' for the last five years. He is basedat Summerlee Heritage Centre in Coatbridge where, as well as a museum, cafe andshop, there is a very satisfactory exhibition space. David manages four darkroomsthroughout North Lanarkshire where he provides workshops in both conventional anddigital photography, taught by a team of experienced tutors. In addition the Councilsponsors a 'Photographer of the Year' award for which the prize is - funding for anexhibition! There is also co-operation with community groups which have led to showssuch as the current one, 'Hands of the Imagination', an enterprising collaborationbetween the 'Buchanan Group' and David Walker, one of David Peace's team oftutors. Workshops in photograms, pinhole photography and badge making are amongthe other activities that are on offer.

It was a newspaper advert for a March exhibition in the Bellshill Cultural Centre (forthus is the Bellshill Library named) that reminded me of the work being done by theLocal Authority. This exhibition consisted of black and white photographs of Graeco-Roman archaeological ruins photographed by a participant in the photographic classheld in Motherwell. When I first saw the photographs I muttered to myself - 'RobertMacpherson!' and was delighted to discover that the photographer herself was wellaware of the work of this nineteenth century Scottish surgeon-traveller-photographer.

The text accompanying the show read:

Margaret Robb lives and works in North Lanarkshire.She enjoys travelling and visiting historic gardens

and archaeological sites.The selection of images reflected her interest in the history

of photography, in particular the images of the early photographerswho documented the ruins of the Roman Empire.

If you live in North Lanarkshire and are interested in the arts in general and photog-raphy in particular then you can contact David Peace on 01236

Capitolium Dougga Tunisia © Margaret Robb

EVENTSEVENTSEVENTSEVENTSEVENTSEVENTSEVENCompass Gallery GlasgowThe Black Isle Ross-shireChristina McBride Cathy Richmond CraigPeacock 7th May - 8th June

Glasgow Print StudioKing Street GlasgowRoger Farnham - "Shed"Glasgow based photographer RogerFarnham will exhibit lens based workinspired by images of sheds from hishomeland in Northern Ireland.26th June - 7th August

Alternative Processes InternationalSymposium (APIS)

Organised by the RPS (Scotland in col-laboration with the RPS Historical Group.17th - 19th September Scottish NationalPortrait Gallery. Cost 'around £70.00 forthe Saturday and Sunday including din-ner on the Saturday night' Details fromRoy Robertson:01382 542 446 roy.robertson@virgin.net

Kim Weston and Randy Efros

"Following the process from making theimage, developing the negative in ABCPyro, as Kim's grandfather, Edward, did,to presenting the final photograph.23rd to 27th August and 29th August to2nd September at Hospitalfield HouseArbroath. Contact Martin Reekie:e-mail martin@m-reekie.com andwww. m-reekie .com/Kim. htm

Miller's BoatyardGlenrothes Summer 2004 AaseGoldsmith has documented the demise ofa reditional St Monans boatyard to 'pro-vide a rcord of the site for future genera-tions'

Stills EdinburghJerwood Photographic AwardsOrganised by Portfolio Magazine7th August - 17th September

The Park GalleryCallender Park FalkirkMan Ray - selected works.May 8th - 16th June

Melvich Hotel MelvichRoger Farnham.The owner is looking for new work andRoger can help with frames. Informationfrom Scottish Photographers.

Street Level PhotoworksKing Street Glasgow

Etzweiler/Landscapes 'Inner and outertopographies by Laurenz Breges andSimone Nieweg until 26th June

"Another World" Sandy Sharp's photogra-phy from post industrial Ravenscraig.3rd July- 14th August

Tracy McNee Fine ArtParnie Street Glasgow

Two of a Kind 2Robert Burns and Bill Ellis show their jazzphotographs during the Glasgow JazzFestival. Opening 5.30 to 8ish. ScottishPhotographers welcome - make yourselfknown to Bill and Robert.

Highland OpenEntries are invited for 'Open Exhibition' -inclusding photography. Deadline 28thJune.Contact Cathy Shankland at InvernessCastle 01463 710978 andcathyshankland@highland.gov.uk

PortfolioRoger Farnham

Roger Farnham

Car Park Roger Farnham

Bale Bags Roger Farnham

Road to Reay Roger Farnham

Back Page

Scottish Photographers at Inversnaid Easter 2004(Clockwise from bottom) Linda Middleton, Ian Fairgrieve, Ian Biggar,Ian King, Bill Ellis, Denis Ashilov, Douglas May, Robert Burns,Sandy Sharp, Andre Goulaincourt, Andrew Sanderson

© Denis Ashilov

Stop Press

Exhibition: Spirirt StoneDiscovery Point Dundee 7th August - 28th October. An exhibition of photographs byRoy Robertson . . . "linking and interpreting the human and landscape forms in thepeople and landscape of Scotland"

'Herald snaps up photographic honours'Angela Catlin, on of the (Glasgow) Herald's photographers, has won the NikonFeatures Photographer of the Year award in the Editor's Awards 2004. In these daysof unadulterated bad news it is always refreshing to find superb non-news images inthe press which bring a smile to the face. Picture editors and librarians should bethanked for continuing this long and happy tradition.

ScottishPhotographers

info@scottish-photographers.com www.scottish-photographers.comSandy Sharp 33 Avon Street Motherwell ML1 3AA

01698 262313 sandesharp@compuserve.com